Monday, September 19, 2011

memories

Thanks to Barbra for singing her best for our cat Gabby who is becoming of a certain age. The girl is 15+ years old but recently we’ve started to see loss of reflex, speed, and agility. This song can easily make me feel weepy for her past but grateful for her presence in our lives.

Also in cat news, we have a strange, bold kitty who has most recently become a cat burglar. The unknown white adolescent feline is maimed in one paw but has been caught (more than once) sneaking in through our dog door late at night and eating any kibble that Lola has left behind. The cat bolts as soon as it hears me but it has journeyed as far as our kitchen. Hungry cat was also in our laundry room one morning in the summer and elderly Gabby was none too pleased. Snaps for perseverance.

I just heard from a college friend that her father had passed away in his sleep at 80 years old. It is her and her husband’s first experience with death in their immediate family and it has made them realize how fragile her mother is now that the husband is gone. She was a fierce tiger during our college years and I was there on more than one occasion when mother/daughter arguments would erupt. My friend mentioned how her husband (who her mother had begged not to marry) was now helping her bereaved mother with debit cards, bill paying, and financial responsibility that comes along with a loss of a spouse.

So not to be a total buzzkill; let’s end with this. This video was filmed in London (with NYC overlays) in September 1981. The take is live and behind a nervous Barbra is a full symphony orchestra with Andrew Lloyd Webber conducting (no studio tricks on this one). Amazing.